Photo:Li Hao/GT

China's distance racewalker Yang ­Jiayu won a gold medal in the women's 20km racewalk at the Paris Olympics on Thursday. This is the fourth Olympic gold medal for China in the women's 20km racewalk event and the 11th gold for China at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

With this victory, Yang has achieved a Grand Slam in the event, holding both the Olympic gold, World Championship title and world record.

From the start of the race on Thursday, Yang quickly rushed to the front. But as the race progressed, several strong contenders began to catch up.

At the 5km mark, Yang reclaimed the lead and gradually extended her advantage to 30 seconds. At 15km, Maria Perez from Spain began to close the gap, but Yang maintained her lead and secured the gold medal.

In an interview after the game, Yang said, "I promised my father before that I would stand on the highest podium, and today I did it!"

Yang Jiayu previously won the national racewalk championships in 2021 with a time of 1 hour, 23 minutes, and 49 seconds, setting a new world record for women's 20km racewalk.

As the world record holder, Yang's ­career is marked by several highlights. 

In 2017, she won the gold medal in the women's 20km racewalk at the London World Championships, which brought honor to the Chinese athletics team.

At the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Yang again demonstrated her international competitiveness by winning the women's 20km racewalk.

"I don't care about looking beautiful; I want my results to be beautiful," Yang said in another interview.

Outside of racewalking, Yang enjoys wearing pretty dresses and occasionally getting her nails done. She is pleased when fans compliment her nail designs from her competition days.

Yang also shares vlogs of her daily life on social media, including selfies, travel, and humorous videos. However, since 2018, her posts have most consistently featured her uninterrupted training videos.

Yang, from North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has loved sports from a young age. She began racewalking in October 2010 and later started professional training under her mentor coach Alatan.

"Yang Jiayu not only trains hard, but is also a highly gifted athlete," said Alatan.

Initially, Yang faced many challenges, including the intensity of training and mastering techniques, which were difficult at her young age. Despite these challenges, she persevered, ensuring high-quality training every day.

"There is no such thing as extraordinary talent, only continuous hard work," is a quote Yang has pinned on her social media.

Yang's strong finishing ability has been a key asset throughout her career.